On Tuesday evening, Napoli will host AC Milan in the second leg of their Champions League quarter-final. These two Italian football giants are evenly matched, with AC Milan holding a 1-0 lead from the first leg at San Siro, thanks to Ismael Bennacer’s goal in the 40th minute.
Both teams played in league draws over the weekend. Milan drew against Bologna, while Napoli was held to a 0-0 draw by Hellas Verona in Naples. Despite this, Napoli remains in a strong position in the Serie A table, sitting 14 points ahead of second-placed Lazio with only eight games remaining.
Napoli-AC Milan match preview
AC Milan has been inconsistent this season and currently sits in fourth place in the Serie A standings. In their last game, they were held to a disappointing 1-1 draw by Bologna and will need to improve their performance in the upcoming match.
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On the other hand, Napoli has been in excellent form this season and is currently at the top of the league table. Despite playing out a goalless draw with Hellas Verona last week, the team has been playing well and will aim to step up their game in this fixture.
Napoli has not managed to defeat Milan in their home ground since August 2018, which is a record that could give the visiting team confidence ahead of the second leg on Tuesday. Milan has also scored more goals in previous encounters between the two teams, with a total of 248 goals compared to Napoli’s 193. This gives Milan the upper hand in this week’s match.
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Napoli possible starting lineup:
Meret; Di Lorenzo, Rrahmani, Jesus, Rui; Zielinski, Lobotka, Ndombele; Politano, Osimhen, Kvaratskhelia.
AC Milan possible starting lineup:
Maignan; Calabria, Kjaer, Tomori, Hernandez; Krunic, Bennacer, Tonali; Diaz, Giroud, Leao.
Head-to-head record
- Napoli and Milan have played against each other 172 times in official competitive matches, with Milan leading the head-to-head record with 69 wins as compared to Napoli’s 51 wins. There have also been 52 draws between the two teams.
- Napoli wins: 51
- AC Milan wins: 69
- Draws: 52
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Napoli-AC Milan prediction
Napoli has had an impressive performance in their league campaign, but they have encountered a few setbacks in recent weeks. In particular, their performance against the Rossoneri has been subpar, and they will need to rectify this ahead of the upcoming match.
AC Milan has displayed moments of excellence in the past month but had an unimpressive game over the weekend. Both teams currently have certain concerns that need to be addressed, which could result in a draw in this fixture.
Prediction: Napoli 2-2 AC Milan
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Date, kick-off time, venue
The Champions League game between Napoli and AC Milan will be played on April 18, 2023, at 3pm EDT, 8pm BST, 12:30am IST (April 19) at the Diego Armando Maradona Stadium in Naples, Italy.